Cold Soup On A Hot Summer Day (or Night)

It is hot. It is humid. It is sticky. Why of course that’s exactly how the weather is in Singapore this week, last week, the week before that and even the month before that. Yes I know that is what you expect the weather of a tropical country to be that is 137 km north of the equator. However we also expect frequent bouts of thunder showers in a week for a few hours that provides some respite from the heat. That surely has not been happening since 2014 started. Sigh!

So during one of these hot days, I was walking back home with a bag of food supplies from the grocery store, perspiring in the heat, throat drying up and the harsh rays of the sun piercing my eyes . What a day to forget my sun glasses!! The very walk I used to enjoy from the grocery store to home felt like torture. Once home gulped down gallons of water, showered, ate cold fruit and made this cold soup for dinner.

Thank God I had bookmarked this recipe that was published in the Food and Travel magazine in Dec 2012 by Chef Bjorn of the Artichoke restaurant in Singapore. This was the much needed dinner at such a time. It is indeed a good soup to beat the heat. The soup is fairly simple to make and you can make it ahead so saves a lot of time especially when you want something quick and light. It is great to feed your hunger and thirst, both :)

Further the herbs, celery and garlic were so well infused within the yogurt. It is a powerful concoction of numerous flavors – sharp garlic, tart celery, sweet dill , citrus coriander and cool cucumber and yogurt. Not to miss the pastel green color of the soup.

I have the print version of the magazine, but found the link online here. Also below is the recipe for your reference- I have changed the quantities a bit

Ingredients:

1 green bell pepper cored and chopped

2 celery sticks chopped

3 Japanese cucumbers chopped

2 garlic cloves crushed

A handful of dill herb

A handful of coriander

250 ml Greek style yogurt

200 ml cold water

1 tablespoon olive oil

Juice of half lemon

Salt to taste

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Herbs and edible flowers for garnishing – I had chives on hand so used them

5 thoughts on “Cold Soup On A Hot Summer Day (or Night)”

I have a stuffy nose while I read this and I am craving warm liquids because the winter here does not seem to want to go away (although in Florida we are still luckier and don’t have snow and super low temps) however, when I read about your walk home I started feeling the beads of perspiration and the strong rays of the Singapore sun. As I kept reading about the soup, I began craving the hot, merciless Florida summer so that I could prepare this for myself and also a dog friendly version for Kahlua for us to enjoy over mindless television on one such afternoon :)
Thank you for sharing this! It looks beautiful and you are just amazingly creative!

Hey thanks for such encouraging words :) sometimes I wonder who reads my ramblings and checks out the food pics all over this blog..haha..Really thank you and I will keep trying new things related to food and share those here..I hope you make this once it starts getting warmer in Florida..Perhaps in a month or 2…And a dog friendly version for Kahlua – that will be interesting and hope you find the apt ingredients to use for him. I do not have much knowledge on kind of foods suitable for dogs since never had a dog so cannot comment on it…But I know your dedication and love towards Kahlua, so I am sure you will figure it out :)

What a beautiful, creamy green soup! All of those fresh herbs sound like they’d make the blend so bright and invigorating, especially on a hot day. My very prolific chives will be flowering any day now, so I’m happy to have a good use for those blossoms as well. :)

Aww thanks so much . I really hope you do give this a try – Although you may have to use a vegan version for the milk yogurt I used, since I guess you are vegan? It really is great especially during hot nights and days and so cooling :) Let me know if you do try something vegan and how it goes.

Follow Blog via Email

A blog of my food escapades in the kitchen and the streets of Singapore. I am trying to learn and experiment with simple foods keeping it as fresh and healthy as possible. Hope you like my posts and thanks for dropping by here!!